A conventional in-vehicle information device mounted on a train displays information related to driving of vehicles as typified by a destination guidance, in timings according to driving states and also displays various types of information such as news received through frequency-modulation (FM) multiplex broadcasting to passengers, thereby improving services for the passengers (see, for example, Patent Literature 1 mentioned below).
There is another conventional in-vehicle information system that sequentially notifies passengers of driving information of vehicles using a display unit as typified by a liquid crystal monitor and also includes a separate display unit that notifies the passengers of general information such as various commercials (CM) and news, thereby notifying the passengers of more information (see, for example, Patent Literature 2 mentioned below).
These conventional techniques enable to unidirectionally notify the passengers of various types of guidance information such as driving information, route guidance, transfer guidance, and guidance of facilities at the next stop by collecting various types of information such as a traveling speed, a traveling location, a time, a distance between stations, a time required to travel between stations, and an open/close state of doors and displaying fixed phrases or fixed graphics prepared in advance in timings according to vehicle driving states. These conventional techniques also enable to notify the passengers of a variety of information by displaying general information such as commercials (CM) and news on the same display unit in a superimposed manner or on a display unit separately provided.
Particularly, the technique described in Patent Literature 2 includes a display unit as typified by a liquid crystal monitor having a screen vertically divided into two, and has a function, for example, to display text characters indicating the next stop as “Next stop is XX Station” (a current station next station display function) or to display train destination information, a car number, and a current time on a first divided portion. The technique described in Patent Literature 2 also displays still images of fixed phrases or fixed graphics prepared in advance on a second divided portion in timings according to vehicle driving states while sequentially switching the images. Information to be displayed on the second divided portion includes information of route guidance, transfer guidance, facility guidance, manner notice (mobile phones, priority seats), terror alert notice, door opening side guidance, driving information, sudden stop notice, notice at the time of door opening/closing, women-only car guidance, and the like, and FIG. 10 in Patent Literature 2 depicts a display example of facility guidance and transfer guidance displayed immediately before the next stop.
These conventional techniques have a fundamental operation to unidirectionally notify passengers of various types of guidance information on the vehicle in predetermined driving timings and accordingly the various types of guidance information are notified the passengers within the rail vehicle while being switched at a unit time interval.